Toledo native advocates for veterans with essay, center

In his Aug. 7 essay “Pull together for veterans,” distributed by Hearst Wires, U.S. Army Col. David Sutherland said veterans do not receive the services they need.

U.S. Army Col. David Sutherland

Sutherland, a Toledo native and Bowling Green State University graduate, said there is an “overabundance of veterans groups” with “redundant efforts.”

“Each [veteran] has unique capabilities and may have unique needs,” Sutherland said. “Yet in many cases … you see cookie-cutter solutions as opposed to individual services.”

Sutherland said it’s common that veterans come home to families and communities looking for meaningful connections but are overwhelmed trying to find them.

“It’s confusing to the point where they may not ask for assistance, because they don’t know where to go,” Sutherland said.

Contrary to popular belief, Sutherland said veterans do not come home to big government organizations providing help; solutions are mainly found on the local level. Such efforts should be consolidated, he said.

Sutherland said veterans need “wrap-around services” such as education, access to health care and employment opportunities.

“Every need and opportunity for us can be looked at in a continuum, a continuum that includes our families,” Sutherland said.

In response to these needs, Sutherland and U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kim Mitchell founded the Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services in July 2012.

It serves as a partnership with Easter Seals, which has been providing services to the military and veteran communities since 1945. Together, the organizations establish a network of service providers and local leaders to better the military, veterans and the families of veterans. The center is working nationwide but the physical headquarters is located in Washington, D.C.

The center is named in honor of Staff Sgt. Donnie Dixon, who was in charge of Sutherland’s security in Iraq. He was killed Sept. 29, 2007, during a firefight in Balour, Iraq.

“Besides the fact that Dixon died while ensuring my security, he’s also representative of most of the service members that have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Sutherland said. “He was a noncommissioned officer, he was a husband, he was a father, he was on his second deployment and he was a volunteer.”

Sutherland joined the military Sept. 23, 1983. He commanded the U.S. combat brigade in Diyala Province, Iraq, from 2006-07 and served as the special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2009-12.

Sutherland retired in 2012 and transitioned from one “life-calling career to another,” he said. He now serves as a vocal advocate and mentor for service members, veterans, military families and the families of the fallen.

“The bonds that exist on the battlefield are unlike any bonds that you can imagine, and when we come home those bonds are ripped apart,” he said.

Sutherland said he still talks to the men he served with and people contact him for advice every day. It is in their honor that he advocates.

“Veterans are committing suicide at a rate of 22 a day; one in five female veterans is homeless; the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans right now is 10 percent and over 20 percent for 18- through 28-year-old veterans,” Sutherland said. “Unemployment, homelessness and suicide should never be used in the same sentence as veterans and military families.”

Sutherland said he came back from Iraq feeling like he didn’t fit in.

“I have a very strong family and a very strong support group and I was able to get the resources and support I needed because I was still serving in the military,” he said.

He said veterans face dark times after homecomings. To help them cope, Sutherland said he encourages veterans to talk and asks them where they see themselves in five years and how they plan to achieve that goal.

Sutherland has interacted with leaders such as former director of the CIA David Petraeus. He also attended a state dinner for Iraqi war veterans at the White House that President Obama attended.

In February, Sutherland was honored with the Daily Point of Light Award, an award established by former President George H.W. Bush from the Points of Light Foundation. It “honors individuals and groups creating meaningful change in communities across America,” according to a news release.

Sutherland was inducted into BGSU’s ROTC program’s hall of fame.

“That was a watershed moment,” he said. “If you go to Bowling Green, you’re inextricably linked to that institution for the rest of your life.”

At the end of his essay, Sutherland argues that time should not be wasted; the time to provide such services to veterans is now. The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan officially ends in 16 months and the more than 2 million Americans who were deployed will be coming home.

“We forget about the war; American people cannot forget about the veterans and the military families,” he said.

Traitor hater, part 2

NOTE: The original version of this column was published Aug. 10, 2008. It is more relevant now than then.

As we are all too often reminded, it’s not a perfect world. Sometimes the bad guys get away, the good guys make bad choices and innocent people catch the shrapnel.

The instability is constant because unpredictability is an intrinsic human trait. A more cynical view would replace “unpredictability” with “unreliability.”

Karma usually has the last word, and while there’s no empirical evidence of cosmic justice in the afterlife, it’s human nature to believe the big wheel of consequence transports good people to their destination while crushing bad people along the way. My guess is, that’s about 80 percent accurate.

What happens to those who betray confidence and intentionally abandon friends and family? What happens to those who steal and lie and intimidate people? Perhaps this dirty dozen of historical and fictional examples will offer some solace to the aggrieved.

1. Judas Iscariot: For 30 pieces of silver, Judas betrayed Jesus Christ and set the Crucifixion in motion. Depending on the source material, Judas hanged himself, was stoned to death or had his bowels spilled in a field, none of which is a happy ending.

2. Benedict Arnold: Feeling unappreciated and slighted, the George Washington-appointed commandant of Philadelphia took more than 10,000 British pounds, a pension and some land in Canada for working with John Andre to give West Point secrets to the British. Upon capture, Andre was executed. Arnold escaped and eventually fled to London, where he died of gout, dropsy and delirium.

3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in “Hamlet”: Shakespeare makes the ultimate case for killing the messengers for the message: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are longtime friends with Hamlet, but serve as spies for the evil and murderous King Claudius. They are sent on a mission to see Hamlet killed, but the downbeat prince turns the tables and the two betrayers are sent to their deaths.

4. Scar: More regicidal hijinks. In “The Lion King,” jealous Scar arranges the death of his brother, King Mufasa, in a wildebeest stampede. Scar lives the high life for a while, but eventually his greed and disregard for friends and family lead to his being torn apart by the very hyenas he once partnered with. Are you noticing a trend here?

5. Brutus: Betrayed Julius Caesar, leading the 44 B.C. plot to assassinate the Roman leader. Brutus committed suicide after a military defeat, less than two years after his traitorous act.

6. John Walker Lindh: An American who pleaded guilty to being a member of the Taliban, Lindh received a far-too-easy 20-year prison sentence. He got off light. Charges against him included conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations. In January 2003, Lindh was locked away at the United States Penitentiary, a high-security prison in Victorville, Calif., northeast of Los Angeles.

7. Fredo Corleone: Fredo, the weakest of Don Corleone’s sons, betrayed the family off-screen in “The Godfather” and paid for it with his life in “The Godfather II.” As played by John Cazale, Fredo was a whiny loser who let delusions of grandeur jeopardize his family and their business. Fredo is shot and dumped in a lake when his brother Michael exacts the inevitable revenge.

8. Iago: Shakespeare’s greatest villain is one of the ultimate traitors. Iago pretends to be General Othello’s trusted adviser, but systematically destroys Othello’s life though scheming and lying. Wez do not see Iago’s execution, but it is implied. There was certainly no sequel or spinoff featuring the dastardly traitor.

9. Aldrich Ames: Ames gave the Russians the identities of American spies and other intelligence information. He reportedly jeopardized more than 100 American intelligence efforts. His traitorous actions earned him a reported $4.5 million, blood money for the 10 Americans who were executed as a result of his betrayal. The CIA believes he eventually gave away every U.S. agent who was working against the USSR. He is serving life in prison.

10. Salieri: Salieri, in stage and film incarnations, is jealous of Mozart’s talent. He pretends to befriend Amadeus but all the while plots to thwart his career. Eventually, Salieri plots to trick Mozart into writing his own requiem. The stress contributes to Mozart’s pauper death. Salieri lives long enough to see his own work forgotten and Mozart’s increasingly celebrated.

11. Peter Pettigrew: The entire “Harry Potter” saga spins the way it does because Harry’s parents trusted Pettigrew, who betrayed them to ultimate baddie Lord Voldemort. For his reward, Pettigrew spends years as the rat Scabbers, earns the cheery nickname Wormtail, loses a hand and is eventually strangled by the magical prosthetic hand that replaces his filthy, weak natural one.

12. Your name here.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at mmiller@